Your arcade memories?

[Naniyue]

Please share your arcade experiences, no matter how simple!

Two of mine:

1)  I've always liked Make Trax/Crush Roller.  I remember playing it for the first time when I was maybe eight years old, in a dark recess of an eatery at a flea market.  Even as the years passed, the game was still there, a reliable presence, all the way up until I had fully grown and the market finally closed down.

2) I'm sure many have had this one.  A game you really liked, but was still 50 cents.  And then, one day, it FINALLY went down to 25!   

[majors]

Early memories of arcades are full of Super Cobra and Mr. Do for me Personally, those two are both the better versions of Scramble and Dig Dug.

I was the prime age for the Street Fighter 2 craze, I was a regular at the arcades during the early 90's. I made a lot of lifelong friends because of those matches and grudges. I do remember when SF1 was launched with the pressure sensitive buttons, but even then it didn't hold a candle to the crowds that Double Dragon drew in at the time. I will say that my first two games for TG-CD were Valis 2 and Fighting Street in '91 (mostly b/c they were cheap), but I already knew that FS was gonna be meh' when I bought it (but the music was good!).

[hoobs]

I worked at 2 different arcades for six years each. Just Fun at the Fairfield Mall until it closed in 2001. Followed by Namco Cyberstation from 2001 - 2007.

[_joshuaTurbo]

I almost think of the adventures that my friends or relatives had moreso than the time I spent playing games at the arcades. I remember grabbing my allowance on Friday's and heading to the roller skating rink to play arcade games. haha, renting skates to stand there playing awesome arcade games, and watching other people play games. I remember how cool those older teens looked just rocking through APB, or Yai Ar kung Fu.

Once I was a bit older, I remember taking my first few paychecks from my part time jobs and blowing 20-40$ on a friday night playing some of those horrid Mortal Kombat clones in the arcades, like Time Killers and Blood Storm just trying to hit those crazy fatalities. Haha, games like MK2 or Samurai Shodown would always have longer lines or crowds around them, so I would always look for the lesser known 'cade games to blow money on.  Sad times, as those Strata games were never much fun.  Still, hilariously fun memories.

[roflmao]

I worked at 2 different arcades for six years each. Just Fun at the Fairfield Mall until it closed in 2001. Followed by Namco Cyberstation from 2001 - 2007.

I was the technical manager for a Chuck E. Cheese nearly 20 years go! That was a pretty grueling job, though, because I maintained the arcade games, rides, hydraulic robots, kitchen equipment, plumbing, lighting, etc... It was nuts.

[Androsynth]

I grew up with a friend's dad managing the local mall arcade. We'd get to go in after hours and play everything on freeplay. Fun times, and that arcade had some really rare games too.

Later, my grandmother lived close to the biggest Aladdin's Castle (four stories) south of LA, so that place was amazing. I also managed a Chuck E Cheese as one of my early jobs. Which completely explains why I don't have/want kids lol.

These days there are several huge arcades within an hours drive so we get to do the arcade thing at least a few times a year. It's still every bit as fun as it was as a kid too.